Social Class, Education, and Motherhood in a Globalized Context: Identity Construction for Student Transnational Mothers
Issue Date
2013-05-31Author
Gomez Cervantes, Andrea
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
57 pages
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
M.A.
Discipline
Sociology
Rights
Copyright held by the author.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The research question guiding this project is: What are the differences and similarities between the motherhood identities of student transnational mothers and domestic worker transnational mothers? While previous literature has focused on domestic worker transnational mothers' experiences, I investigated how motherhood identities vary according to class and educational background. I conducted ten semi-structured interviews with student transnational mothers and compared their discourses to those of domestic worker transnational mothers explored in previous literature. I found that while transnational mothers employed as domestic workers center their motherhood identities on economic and emotional family necessities, student transnational mothers focus theirs on self-development, professional growth, and being good role models. These findings suggest that transnational mothers shape their identities according to the available resources. I conclude that although transnational mothers seem to have a common set of experiences and motherhood identities, these differ according to their social characteristics such as socioeconomic status and education.
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- Sociology Dissertations and Theses [155]
- Theses [3901]
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